


Overcoming the Past

by Chameleononplaid



Series: What If Series [13]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, end of season 5b
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-05-10
Packaged: 2018-10-30 09:28:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10873944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chameleononplaid/pseuds/Chameleononplaid
Summary: Felicity has gone missing and everyone is worried because she hasn't been heard from in days. Oliver and his team are determined to find her, no matter who they may have to work with.This is the epilogue to my What If Series and focuses on the end of Season 5B.





	Overcoming the Past

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: It has been a fun ride to do all of these What Ifs for all of you to enjoy. This is the epilogue of the whole series and I have other great stories coming out soon (multi-chapter fictions), that I don’t know how soon it will be to get out my dream sequence story. But I will try to get it finished out to all of you soon since it is finished. It’s more about getting it edited to how I would like it to be. Thank you to everyone who has been on this ride with me and I hope that you enjoy this story as much as the rest. And I know there will be questions at the end, so I apologize in advance. And, as always, a humongous thank you to my beta, missmeagan666.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. They belong to Arrow and the DC Comics Universe.

 

            The black web was a dangerous place. For the unsuspecting, the innocent, and the misguided it could very well be deadly. But to some the darkness contained in the code was nowhere near the blackness of the souls of those who traversed their depths.

            Noah Kuttler rested back in his chair. The site he worked on was about to be hacked and he was prepared for the assault. A group called Helix had been making noise for some time and Noah had been hired by another anonymous group to find out the depths Helix was willing to go without its leader. They had been trying for so long to obtain every minute detail, every piece of information on the people throughout the world without permission. They had already delved deep into the depths of most government agencies. Now, they were onto smaller fish. Fish that knew exactly how dirty souls could become.

            His computer pinged. Noah’s face broke into a smile. “Here we go.”

            Noah’s fingers flew over the keyboard. The last interaction he had with Helix had him almost in their systems, however, today, they seemed to be putting up more of a fight. They must have hired a better hacker, because Noah knew for a fact that their leader was still detained. He was the only person who could best him. And Noah was ready for whatever they threw at him. Other than the leader of Helix, there was only one other person in the world who could come close to beating him. Felicity Smoak, his daughter.

            Examining the familiar code flying across his screen, Noah froze. It couldn’t be possible. With a few swipes of his fingers across the keys, Noah tracked down the user name for the coder. Ghost Fox Goddess. Noah slammed his hands down hard on his precious keyboard.

            _What the hell was going on?_ Darkh was no longer in the picture. _So, what had pushed Felicity to join a group more dangerous than the rumored League of Assassins?_ Even if rumors were true, and such a League existed, they still couldn’t be as dangerous as a group who not only knew all of your secrets but could take over any computerized object. Helix didn’t necessarily kill. No, they destroyed. Companies. People. Organizations. Governments. Military. And those were just the ones that Noah knew about. Could prove.

            Felicity was in dangerous territory. She operated with criminals that made what Noah did seem almost innocent. He had to help her. Somehow. First he’d have to find her and he knew just the person who could help him. The only other man who loved his daughter as much as he did.

 

OQFSOQFSOQFS

 

            “Where’s Felicity?” Oliver asked Diggle as he entered the bunker. A bunker that had become vulnerable on too many occasions. It was time to establish a new one. One that could keep Felicity safe when they were out, even if she chose to seek out danger on her own.

            “Haven’t seen her.” Digg shrugged and went back to hitting the bag in front of him. It was his common practice of late. Digg had told Oliver it was the only way he could go home at night.     

            Ever since Felicity and Helix had faced off against Lyla and A.R.G.U.S., things had been tense with Diggle and Lyla. Oliver didn’t like the tension. It made him nervous. He could see his relationship with Felicity mirroring the older couple’s. If things went south with those two, Oliver worried that he and Felicity wouldn’t find their way together either.

            That train of thought had him patting his pocket before he looked over at Felicity’s computers. Curtis sat there in her chair going over some algorithm. “Curtis.” The other man turned to face him. “Have you seen Felicity?”

           “No.” Curtis shook his head. “You know I haven’t seen her the past couple of days. With everything going on, your abduction, the Bratva showing up, the fight between Helix and A.R.G.U.S., getting you and Felicity out of the bunker, and fixing her chip, it’s hard to even keep track of the days.” Curtis snorted as he finally took a breath. “Let’s not even add in that Paul dropped the divorce papers on me and his lawyer keeps calling to see if I have signed them yet.”

            Oliver reached out and squeezed Curtis’s shoulder in support, something he might not have been capable of a few short years ago. Someone had to have seen Felicity, though. She couldn’t just disappear. Her tenure with Helix was over and that was the only other place she escaped to over the past few months.

            “We only got the two of you back,” Digg said interrupting Oliver’s thoughts, while he came closer, toweling himself off. “We need to concentrate on Prometheus’s next step. Felicity will turn up. I’m sure she’s just stressed out after the whole losing the ability to walk again.”

            “Well, honestly, I’ve pinged her cell phone repeatedly with no result,” Curtis told them. “I even tried to remotely turn it back on but I haven’t even had luck with that.”

            A cold piece of sweat fell down Oliver’s back as he shoved his hands into his pockets. His left hand encircled the ring box that laid within. The one he carried with him since the night after they had been stuck inside the bunker. He had wanted to give it to her days ago, but it never felt like the right time. And Oliver knew that once it was on her finger this time, there was no way he was ever going to let her take it off again.

            Diggle wasn’t wrong about Felicity’s stress. She had been having nightmares the last few nights. It was the reason he practically rammed his head into the wall because the last two days as Mayor of Star City, he had been trapped in protective custody after Prometheus made a move on him and Quentin at City Hall after the bunker attack failed.

            Now, Oliver had no idea where Felicity was. That bothered him. Even more than her shutting him out when Helix had made a move on A.R.G.U.S.

            “Screw Prometheus.” Oliver kicked at the closest chair, which to Curtis’s luck he wasn’t in. “Felicity’s the priority. I don’t care if Prometheus kills the whole city. Felicity needs to be here now.”

            She had always been there for him. Even when he pushed her away, which she pointed out to him on numerous occasions over the last week and a half. Well, he was done pushing. It was time he stepped up and took the lead and pulled her out of her own melancholy.

            “I wish that thing Felicity received from Helix wasn’t destroyed,” Oliver bemoaned. “We could use it to find her.”

            “The Biometric Tracker?” Curtis asked before shrugging off the name of the code when questioning eyes hit him. “Sorry, but even my computer skills aren’t that good after the explosion and the EMP.”

            “Maybe mine are.”

            Everyone turned at once to the new arrival. Oliver glared at Felicity’s father. “What are you doing here?”   

            Noah Kuttler pointed to the elevator he exited from. “You really need a better system. I’ll talk to Felicity once we find her.”

            “You know she’s missing?” Oliver demanded.

            “You know where she is?” Digg said over Oliver as he pointed his gun at Noah.

            “With Helix. They’re a…”

            “We know what they are,” Oliver interrupted him. “She’s not working with them anymore.”

            Noah glanced around the room, worry lining his features. “If she’s not with them, then where is she?”

            “We don’t know,” Oliver told him honestly. “We were working on that when you showed up.”

            Noah walked over to where they all stood and gave Digg a sideways glance. Oliver nodded at his friend to put the gun away. Digg reluctantly followed the silent command. Curtis jumped up from his chair and Noah sat down.

            “Help yourself,” Oliver told him sarcastically, waving at the seat that Noah already sat in.

            “How did you find us?” Digg asked. He always did get down to the details.

            “I backtracked some locations and then followed some data trails Felicity left in an emergency. She knew I’d be able to find them and that I’d be one of the only ones to crack their code.” Noah clicked on the program Curtis had left open. A humming sound came from deep in Kuttler’s throat.

            “What?” Oliver demanded.

            “Interesting code. I’ve seen it a few times. It’s refined. Haven’t seen it in a while though.”

            “Code?” Curtis leaned in. “You got code? I’ve been working on that for last two days.”

            “Anyway,” Noah said, unaffected by Curtis, “it took me almost a whole week to finish the stuff I was working on and then over a week, which for me is saying something, to find this place. The second the elevator doors opened it all made sense.” Noah glanced up at Oliver. “I knew you had been speaking from experience when we spoke at the Federal Server Farm.”

            Curtis pointed at the screen, drawing everyone’s attention. “Is that what I think it is?”

            Noah nodded and turned to Curtis. “You’ve been in the Helix system?”

            “Not really.” Curtis shrugged. “I helped Felicity once but at the time I didn’t know Helix was involved, or what they were.” Curtis leaned closer, adjusting his glasses so he could get a better look at the code going over the screen. “This seems much more complex.”

            “It is.” Noah typed away uncovering more information from the damaged drive. A whistle escaped his lips. “Mr. James has been busy since his release.”

            “You know who he is?” Diggle asked somewhat startled, but quickly recovered. A snort escaped him. “Of course you do. Someone like you would.”

            “Someone like me?” Noah turned to face the larger man. “Are you insinuating something, Mr. Diggle?”

            “That you’re a criminal? No. That’s common knowledge.”

            Noah snickered. “I believe your own criminal status has fluctuated recently, so let’s not throw stones. Anyway, you’re lucky that I know his code.”

            “How well do you know it?” Oliver finally threw in to avoid Diggle’s anger. “Can we program it to find Felicity?”

            “Once I clean it up, we should be able to unscramble it enough to find anyone.” Noah glanced amongst the men. “Which might actually be easier to do without all of you looming over me.”

            Diggle continued to glare down at Felicity’s father. Oliver knew he didn’t trust the older man. Hell, Oliver didn’t trust him either but he was their best chance of finding Felicity. Thousands of scenarios tripped across Oliver’s brain. He didn’t like any of them because all of them meant that Felicity might be in danger, hurt, or worse.

            A curse escaped Noah’s lips and Oliver was on full alert. “What?”  

           “Nothing.” Despite Noah’s denial and the casual way he picked up papers and began to fold them, Oliver knew that something was wrong. Noah rose and dropped a paper over the top of the screen. Then another over the next screen, all the while making sure someone stood in the way of the other monitors across the room so that they couldn’t see what he was doing. Suddenly, Oliver understood.

            Grabbing some paperwork, Oliver walked slowly over to the other desk and leaned back against it. He folded up some of the papers he brought over with him. With a quick twist, he dropped them over the cameras on the monitors at the same time. When he turned back Noah nodded at him.

            Diggle pointed toward the garage and the four men made their way over and down towards it. Curtis disengaged the wiring on the speaker system and Oliver collected all the phones from everyone and placed them in the small Faraday cage Felicity installed.

            Noah glanced around. “Any other listening devices? Computers?”

            “No. Nothing,” Oliver assured him.

            “What’s going on?” Diggle asked, his gaze sharp on the grey haired man.

            “With Felicity’s work with Helix, the systems have been compromised. They can activate any of it and now that Cayden James is free everyone is vulnerable.” Noah took another look around the garage. “I can go back and retrieve the jump drive, but if I were all of you, I’d avoid the area. In fact, any area that has some sort of computer system, phone, camera or audio device.”

            “Trust me after the elevator incident, I’m already paranoid,” Curtis informed him with a shudder. “Where are analogue phones when you want them?”

            “How are you going to be able to track Felicity if we’re avoiding technology?” Oliver hooked his hands on his hips. He’d hoped that maybe now that Felicity was out of Helix she’d be safe. Apparently, they were still a threat if Noah was this concerned.

            “Hey.”

            Oliver glanced over at Diggle. Raising his eyebrows, Oliver questioned what his friend wanted.

            “It’s not your fault,” Diggle told him.

            “I…”

            Diggle laid a hand on Oliver’s shoulder and met his eyes straight on. “Felicity’s tough. She’s going to be fine. We’re going to find her.”   

            “It’s still…”

            “Not your fault,” Diggle finished for him. “If she didn’t back away from going against A.R.G.U.S., she will be fine. Felicity Smoak is one of the toughest women I know. You feel the same or you wouldn’t love her as much as you do.”

            “I have to do something, Digg. I can’t just wait around.” Oliver pulled out of Diggle’s hold. “If Chase has her…” Oliver’s voice broke and he took a deep breath to try to recover. “I put her in his path. I put all of you there, but Felicity… After Prometheus trapped us in the bunker, I promised I’d keep her safe.” Oliver glanced over at his friend. “I can’t let him hurt her, Digg. It would destroy me.”   

            “We won’t let him, man.”

            Noah roamed over to the two of them. “I don’t know who this Prometheus guy is but I’m sure he didn’t count on one thing.”

            “What’s that?” Oliver asked intrigued by what Noah had to say.

            “That I would come here and do whatever it takes to make sure my daughter is safe. Even if that means I have to work with Helix.”

            “What about A.R.G.U.S.?” Digg inquired and Oliver knew just what his friend was thinking.

            “You’re going to involve Lyla?”

            “I think for Felicity, despite all that has gone down between them, she would give him remote access to part of the A.R.G.U.S. system.”

            “Are you sure that Lyla would be willing to give _him_ ,” Oliver indicated the man who would’ve been his father-in-law by now if things were different, “access to A.R.G.U.S.? That’s a pretty big step.”

            “She would if I asked her. It is for Felicity.”

            “I don’t need them,” Noah told them both. “I know a secure sight. I set it up and even Helix can’t get in. I hope you’re okay with working with the mob.” Noah glanced between the three men now that Curtis found his way over. “Your outfits might be a little off putting, I’d recommend that you change.”

            Oliver had a feeling he knew exactly which mob Noah referred to. The Bratva. They were the most prevalent here in Star City and a place in which he was no longer welcome. “We’ll be fine.”

            Diggle glanced over at Oliver concerned. Oliver sent him a look that indicated that things would be fine. They would have to be.

            Noah shrugged. “It’s your funeral. But I’m telling my daughter you were warned when she’s crying in my arms over your graves.”

            “Where do you need to go?” Oliver had a feeling he knew the answer, but he was surprised all the same when Noah told them.

            “Irena’s in Bludhaven. It’s a Russian Café.” Oliver knew the place, he just hadn’t known that was where they had moved their base of operations now that Alexi Leonov was dead. “I helped them with their servers last year. The Bratva sex slave runs through there.”

            “Wow.” Diggle rubbed his face and deadpanned, “You’re a real stand up guy.”

            “Fine.” Oliver figured he needed to step in before Diggle took out Kuttler. “Noah, you and Digg head there. Curtis can work on disbanding the computer systems upstairs. I need to head back into the mayor’s office and check in with Quentin and Rene.”

            “Good,” Noah agreed, apparently having no idea what kind of danger he could be in with Diggle by his side. “The only way I can think that we are going to get my daughter back is if this Prometheus doesn’t have any idea we are going to engage Helix to help us.”

            “Will they help us?” Oliver hated that he sounded so concerned but this was about Felicity and he couldn’t exactly put his feelings on the back burner where she was concerned, despite how hard he had tried over the last year or so.

            “Maybe. Just know I’m not going to do something to jeopardize my daughter’s life any more than you are.” Noah seemed visibly upset by the insinuation. “Do what you have to and let me do what I’m good at. Prometheus won’t stand a chance against all of us. Not if Helix gets involved. It won’t matter how may steps he is ahead of you when we are aware of his every move. No one hides form Helix.” Noah smiled. “Except for me. But that’s why I’m the best. And so is Felicity. She’s tough, like her mother. My daughter might have fallen into the trap but it better be a damn good cell to keep her there.”

            Oliver could only nod. He didn’t know what to think. Not when Prometheus was involved. He had already broken Oliver once. Oliver was not about to let him do that to Felicity.

            “Go,” Digg insisted. “Remain public. Chase can’t come after you if you’re surrounded by the public. Let Quentin know what is going on.” Digg leaned toward Oliver. “If Donna catches whiff of this she’ll be here before we all know it and that’s the last thing we all need.” Digg slapped Oliver on the shoulder and smiled. “Be safe. I’ve got Kuttler.”

            Digg wasn’t wrong about Donna. Hell, he wasn’t wrong about a lot of things. So, Oliver did one the hardest things he could ever do. He let someone else take charge with Felicity’s safety and rescue.

 

OQFSOQFSOQFS

 

            “How did Felicity and Oliver meet?” Noah asked Diggle later as he crashed through cyber walls while Diggle watched on, creeped out by the business that surrounded him.

            “At Queen Consolidated. Oliver sought her out for help with a computer issue.”

            “And? There has to be more to that story. I’m sure she wasn’t the only person in the IT Department.”

            Diggle shrugged and Noah could tell he tried to ignore the sounds of sex coming from a nearby room. It was more than likely against his baser instinct to not go do something. “He brought her a laptop riddled in bullet holes. The information contained on it helped him take down a killer. What does it matter?”

            “Just wondering.” Noah glanced up at Diggle standing there clenching his muscles as his hands were buried under his armpits. “You want to hear how they actually first met? I’m waiting for Helix to let me know if their assistance is going to happen.”

            Diggle shook his head and plopped down in a nearby chair. “I already told you how they met.”

            “No.” Noah turned his chair to face Diggle. “You told me how the met recently. Or the meeting they remember. Though, to be honest Oliver may remember, he was old enough to. But that doesn’t mean he put one and one together and came up with the fact that the little girl he met was my Felicity.”

            Diggle leaned forward in his chair and Noah could tell that the younger man was suspending belief until he had the full story. “Fine. How did they meet?”

            Noah smiled as he remembered that time so long ago. “It was all Donna’s fault. She was pissed off with me because I ran off to help with a group who was trying to get rid of some evidence that the police confiscated.”

           

OQFSOQFSOQFS

 

            “I figured I’d find you here.” Noah crossed his arms and glared at his wife who had taken off from their home without a note. “You’re mad because I have to work but you’re not above spending the money I’ve earned.”

            Donna swept some of her blonde hair back from her face, causing the metal bracelets that surrounded her wrists to jangle. “Money, I’ve earned, you mean. Working a job that actually brings in a legal paycheck.”

            “And where’s Felicity while you’re shopping for new shoes?” Noah glanced around trying to find his little girl. At least he knew for a fact that Donna wouldn’t have left their daughter behind.

            “Over there.” Donna waved off to the side.

            His daughter sat at the feet of some mannequin with her five year old head buried in a book. Her long dark hair was pulled over her shoulder in a braid. It had a ribbon pulled through it, which Noah knew Donna had to have put there. He smiled at the thought that Felicity had to have fought with her mother to have accomplished such a feat. Felicity was not really a girly girl, yet. Given enough time with her mother, Noah was sure that would change. Right now, Felicity sat there quiet as a mouse, fiddling with the ribbon that stuck out at the end of her hair while she absorbed every word.

            “Are you keeping an eye on her?” Noah demanded turning back to his wife. “Anyone could walk up and take her.”

            Donna threw down the shoe she held in her hand and placed both of her hands on her hips while her blue eyes turned to ice. “I always know where my daughter is. Every second. You can’t tell me that you do the same. How many times have I come home and you’re tinkering with some gadget and our daughter has gone without food the entire day.”

            “She knows where the milk and cereal are and she’s always safe in our house. There are no strangers there to take her the second your back is turned,” Noah threw back at her.

            “Really?” Donna raised a hand to her head as if Noah was doing the unmentionable by giving her a headache, her favorite excuse. “That’s your answer? She’s safe because she’s home? It doesn’t matter that you forget to feed her, or make sure she’s dressed and has a bath. You’re unbelievable.”

           

            Felicity wanted to cover her ears. Her parents were fighting again. This time loud enough for everyone to start staring. It was bad enough at home where the neighbors knocked on the walls to make them stop, but here? Sympathetic eyes shifted in her direction. Felicity wanted nothing more than to melt into the ground.

            That’s when Felicity heard another kind of arguing. Glancing up from her book, she saw two boys pushing each other. A blonde woman walked up behind them and snatched both of their arms effectively stopping them from shoving each other. The woman bent down and began to speak with both of them and they hung their heads. Another woman made her way over to the trio and laid her hands on the shoulders of the smaller, dark haired boy. The boy reached out and hugged her around her waist and a secret smile passed between the two women.

            That was the kind of mom Felicity wanted. Both of them were so beautiful and dressed so nicely. They didn’t get mad even when the boys fought. Felicity bet they didn’t even get mad when the boys did something really wrong, either.

            The group of four headed in Felicity’s direction. The two boys stood by each other’s sides as they separated the women. The brunette woman pointed off in one direction and she and the boy that Felicity assumed was her son headed off that way. The blonde woman bend down and said something to the blonde boy and he nodded. When she walked off toward the shoes, the nice shoes, the expensive ones, the kid glanced around. His eyes landed directly on her. They were a bright blue and they lit up as a smile split his face. A dimple appeared and Felicity couldn’t believe that he was smiling at her.

            Felicity backed up further on the mannequin’s stand, almost knocking it over. The last time a boy looked at her like that he knocked her down on the playground and kicked dirt in her face.

            The blonde boy walked over quickly and caught the mannequin as it began to topple in her direction. He steadied it, making sure it was secure, before he held out a hand in her direction. “Hi. I’m Oliver.”

            “H…hi.” Gingerly, Felicity reached out and placed her smaller hand in his. “I’m ‘Licity.” Felicity blushed. She still had a hard time saying her name correctly.

            Oliver settled down next to her and he tapped her book. “What are you reading?”

            “Charlotte’s Web.” Felicity handed him her book. “It’s my favorite.”

            Oliver flipped through it. “What’s your favorite part? I like when Wilber wins the ribbon for best pig.” Felicity was going to answer him, but he spoke up again. “I bet your favorite part is the end.”

            Shaking her head. Felicity frowned at him. “No one likes the end. It only makes them sad because Charlotte dies.”

            “I like the end,” he said. He smiled at her and shook his blonde head when she stared at him after his admission. “Not the part with Charlotte dying. That’s sad. But the actual end, when Charlotte’s daughter decides to stay with Wilbur.”

            _I’d stay with you_ , Felicity secretly admitted only to herself. “My favorite part is when Charlotte and Wilbur become friends and she weaves the webs so he won’t be killed.” Felicity ducked her head and fiddled with her braid. “But the ribbon part is good, too.”

            “Hey.” Oliver reached out and tugged her chin up. “You okay?”

            Felicity nodded but wouldn’t meet his eyes. He handed her back her book and she tucked it into her lap. She was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, as her mom liked to say. Boys weren’t usually nice to her. Girls either. She was the only five year old in her first grade class.

            “’Licity?”

            Reluctantly, Felicity raised her head and looked up at the cute older boy who somehow decided she was worth speaking to. “Yeah?”

            “Are you sure you’re okay?”

            “I’m okay. It’s fine.” Felicity gave him a half-hearted smile. “Older kids aren’t really nice to me.”

            “Why not?” He seemed genuinely surprised.

            “Because I’m so young and too smart,” Felicity told him with some reluctance. “I get picked on a lot.”           

            “If I lived around her, I’d take care of those bullies.” Oliver shot a thumb over his shoulder. “Tommy, too.”

            “Is that your friend?”

            Oliver nodded and grinned. It was then that Felicity realized he had a couple of teeth missing. “We’re best friends. I’ll have to introduce you when his mom is done making him try on every shoe in here.”

            Felicity found herself really smiling. She never had a real friend before. It felt nice. “Where are you from?”

            “Starling City. You’d like it. It’s a lot like here without all of the craziness.”

            “Hey, baby. You ready to go?”  

            Felicity glanced upwards and found her parents standing there. “I guess.”

            “Who’s your friend?” Felicity’s father asked.

            Oliver quickly rose and held out a hand. “Oliver Queen, sir. Nice to meet you.”

            Felicity felt her mom nudge her when she rose. Looking up, Felicity noticed her mom had a smile on her face that Felicity had a hard time deciphering. “Mom?”

            “Is this your new friend, honey?”

            Felicity shrugged her small shoulders. “He was nice and talked to me about Charlotte’s Web.”

            “Maybe we should find his parents and invite them to dinner,” Felicity’s mom suggested. “You know so they can make friends. Felicity doesn’t have many.”

            “That would be nice,” Oliver told her with a sideways glance at Felicity. He mouthed her name and Felicity shrugged. She wouldn’t have the time to explain that she had a hard time trying to pronounce it. “But my family is flying out tonight. Dad has an important meeting at Queen Consolidated tomorrow morning.”

            Felicity’s mom began to choke and held on to her father’s shoulder. “Queen? The Queens from Starling City?”

            “Um-hm.” Oliver nodded up at her. “My mom’s over there.” He pointed to the blonde woman he had walked with earlier who was paying for her purchase.

            “Noah, we should say hi,” Felicity’s mom insisted.

            “We don’t have time. The taxi is probably already outside. I had one of the clerks call while you were buying your shoes.” Laying a hand on Felicity’s shoulder, he smiled down at her. “Say bye to your friend.”  

            “Bye, Oliver.” She gave him a half-hearted wave. Felicity didn’t want to lose this new friend. Maybe the only one she might ever have.

            “Bye, Felicity.” He began to turn to leave.

            “Oliver?” He swung back around in an instant. Felicity ran up to him and threw her small arms around his middle. “Thank you for being so nice.”

            He brushed back some loose strands of hair from her face and smiled down at her. “Be remarkable, Felicity, always. Maybe, one day soon, I’ll get a chance to come back and we can visit longer. Or if you come to Starling City, call my dad’s office and I’ll have my mom take us to lunch with Tommy.”

            Felicity nodded and released him. A tear slipped from her eye as he reluctantly turned to walk away. She would’ve stood there forever watching him leave the store with his mom if her father didn’t sweep her up in his arms and head in the opposite direction.

            “Someday, you’ll meet another boy who’ll put that smile on your face, baby,” he told her. “It’ll be the saddest day of my life to know you found someone that you’ll love more than me.”

            Felicity wrapped her arms around her father’s neck, holding tight to her book. She buried her face in his neck and let her tears fall into his sweater. Felicity finally knew what it was like to have a real friend and she to let him go.

 

OQFSOQFSOQFS

 

            “Did that really happen?” Diggle asked doubtfully.

            Noah nodded, a sad smile on his face. “It’s sort of irony. He can still make her smile when she sees him and cry when he leaves.”

            “He loves her,” Diggle told him in a way to reassure him. “It killed him when she was ended up in the hospital. And when she walked out of their engagement, he almost lost it. He tries so hard to hide it, but his heart shattered when that EMP went off over a week ago and she lost the use of her legs again. He would’ve killed himself to make sure she was safe. He still would. You don’t understand him enough to know how the fact that she is missing is eating him up.”

            “So, he still loves her?”

            Diggle thought about all the two of them had fought through to get through their reconciliation. They had their hiccups, every couple had, but unlike most couples, Felicity and Oliver fought for their relationship with all sorts of major obstacles, ones normal couples didn’t deal with. And yet, they were still together through it all.

            A smile crept up on Diggle’s face when he remembered confronting his friend about the ring box that had fallen out of his pocket half a week ago. Oliver had every intention of living up to his promises with Felicity. “More than ever.”

            “Good,” Noah told him and turned back to the computer, “because Helix just accepted my proposal. They’re going to help us get my daughter back.”

 

OQFSOQFSOQFS

 

            Oliver hung up with Diggle. John told him that Helix was going to help. Oliver didn’t know how Noah did it, in fact, Oliver didn’t care, but he was finally beginning to breathe.

            So many warnings had been laid at Oliver’s feet through the years. Actions had consequences, as Diggle like to remind him. And not only Digg told him that. There was Laurel and Anatoly, just to name a few. Oliver had ignored them all. Now Felicity was probably paying the price that was owed to him. It was almost disheartening to know that she’d make the same choice over and over again. As if she hadn’t suffered enough when he had almost killed himself trying to get them out of the bunker a little over a week ago.

            Oliver pressed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead as he remembered seeing her laying there unable to move her legs. Again. She fought through it all with only the aplomb that Felicity could show. He had drug out her secondary wheelchair from their storage area so she could at least get around a little. Or until they tried to escape. Then every protective instinct in him kicked in as he carried her around, to the point of injuring himself more. It didn’t matter what happened to him, Felicity had to be safe at all cost.

            Despite everything that happened in that bunker, Prometheus did Oliver one favor. He made the bond between them stronger. The trust they fought for weeks over was finally solidified. Even if that meant that sometimes they didn’t listen to each other. And Oliver was pretty sure that their love was almost as in synch as it ever could be.

            Now if he could just get her back by his side. It was his fault his life had veered so far from left. Too much death and heartbreak littered the ground upon which Oliver Queen walked. The burdens he carried weighed heavy upon his shoulders. It was only with Felicity that his steps lightened. He didn’t realize how much until recently.

            “Oliver.”

            Whipping around, Oliver found Talia Al-Ghul in the corner of his mayoral office. His hand shot out as he pointed at her. “You did this.”

            “Did what exactly?” Her tone was soft and level as it always was. She approached him slowly, unfazed by Oliver’s anger.

            “Prometheus. Felicity’s kidnapping.”

            Talia shrugged. That simple movement made Oliver see red. He ran at her but she easily deflected him, sending him to the floor. “You won’t be able to rescue her, Oliver. You’d never get there in time.”

            Oliver glared at the woman he once trusted to lead him on his path to some sort of redemption. “If something happens to her…”  

           “Oh, Oliver.” Talia tsked and crossed her arms not even concerned as Oliver rose from the floor. “I have no plans to hurt her. Not yet, anyway. She’s an important part of this little game.”

            “I’m not playing a game,” Oliver practically growled at her. “And definitely not with Felicity.”

            Talia reached down and picked up the ring box that had escaped Oliver’s pocket. She flipped it open for a moment. “Hmm. Pretty.” She closed it and tossed it to Oliver, who caught it in one hand and set down on the table next to him. “My father had a great respect for strong women, so long as they weren’t stronger than him. He would have liked Miss Smoak.” Talia tapped a finger on Oliver’s desk. “But then, he met her, didn’t he?”

            “Yes,” Oliver choked out. “He tried to kill her.”

            “What a waste that would have been.” Talia strolled over to the windows. “She’s too smart. She’d make a valuable asset to my organization if I could convince her to join.”

            “Felicity’s not me. She won’t kill for you. Not willingly.” The thought of what they could make Felicity into scared Oliver more than he cared to admit. She had already followed a dark path. Too dark for her and he would stand in the way of anyone who thought that she should commit anymore sins for the sake of his soul.

            Talia turned “I don’t need a killer.”

            “Of course not. You have Prometheus.”

            “Yes,” she conceded. “But there are other ways to destroy people. Felicity’s talents seem to be capable of that.” Talia smiled at him. “You’d be surprised how easy it is to make someone kill. All it takes is the right reason.”

            “Felicity isn’t a killer,” Oliver argued.

            “The souls from Havenrock might be of a different thought.”

            Oliver slowly approached the older woman. “Which wouldn’t have happened if Darkh hadn’t fallen in with the League to begin with.”

            Talia shrugged and chose to ignore him. “All in the past.”

            “If you weren’t so concerned about the past, we wouldn’t be here.”

            “True.” Talia walked around Oliver and gave him an easy smile. “But then if we let the past go, Felicity would’ve never come to your city. She’d have embraced that hacker part of herself. Felicity Smoak would have been discovered by the very hacktivist group that fought against everything your family ever believed in. She would have been out to destroy people like Oliver Queen. In fact,” Talia told him as she brushed something invisible from Oliver’s shoulders, “it probably would have made a very interesting story as to how you would have found your love then.”

 

OQFSOQFSOQFS

 

            “What is this place?” Felicity asked as she descended the stairs underneath a hidden warehouse next to the handsome man who had sought her out.

            “Helix.”

            “This… this is the ‘secret’ hacktivist group you wanted me to join?” Felicity glanced around the floor that was littered with computer stations, each complete with a top of the line computer. All the desks had someone in front of it gathering data. “Whoa. All these people…”

            “You sound surprised.” Caden James helped her down the last few steps with a smile on his face.

            “Well, when you said secret organization, I was thinking there would be five of us hiding in the back room of a coffee shop. Not this. This isn’t exactly the intimate group I was expecting.”

            “We’re actually working on becoming a world-wide organization. Kind of like the U.N., only we’ll be able to accomplish things,” Caden told her proudly.

            Felicity pointed to one guy who seemed to be staring at security feeds. “What’s that?”

            “Real time feed from computers and security systems running through a pattern algorithm,” Caden told her as he led her over to watch. “Soon, I hope, we’ll be able to do it throughout the world. Gather all the data to let the people know in advance of what could be happening. No matter where they go.”

            “Holy… That’s…”  

            Caden nodded. “Wonderful, I know. And it’s much bigger than anything any government is doing right now.”

            “That’s a lot of power to hold,” Felicity told him impressed.

            “Power to the people.” Caden wrapped an arm around her shoulder and waved around the basement area. “Just think, with your help, we can be bigger than anything any one government can put together. And that’s now. Once we’re plugged in world-wide, no one can stop us. We can be the organization that holds all the rest in check so that the people don’t feel like they’ve been run over by corporations or governments.”

            “Why me?” Felicity asked him, finally getting up the nerve to do it. She was worried that she wasn’t capable of being what these people wanted.

            “You’re talented,” Caden told her as he guided her down the floor past rows of computers and hackers. “After seeing what you were capable of with that super virus of yours…”

            “That wasn’t me,” Felicity tried to deny.

            “Don’t try to use Cooper as an excuse, Felicity.” Caden shook his head. “Yes, we are aware of him. After his little stunt we had no choice but to notice him, but it was your code, your talent that shone through. Cooper wasn’t capable of such a complicated hack, no matter what the government wants to believe.” Caden let her go and faced her when they reached a door in the back. “You, Felicity Smoak, are capable of so much more than that. I’m hoping now that you’re with Helix, we can uncover all that potential you have tried to hide.”

            Felicity could only nod as Caden led her through the door. He flicked on the light and Felicity noticed that the office was larger than she would’ve thought and a comfortable space. More comfortable than her dorm room that she had to move out of by the end of the day. “Is this your office?”

           Caden laughed and tapped her on the nose. “Cute. No, it’s yours. Give me thirty minutes to take care of something and we’ll go over where you fit in. Plus,” Caden handed Felicity a group of keys, “those are for your new apartment.”            

OQFSOQFSOQFS

 

            Years later, Felicity’s office had moved. Mostly because Helix had long overgrown the warehouse they first started in. She now helped head the U.S. Division of Helix out of Star City with her friend, Alena, also known as Kojo Sledgehammer.

            Felicity and Alena only accepted their current positions because their fearless leader had been captured a year before at the hands of A.R.G.U.S. What they needed was a way in so that they could get him out. Felicity’s main priority was to accomplish that. She was almost there.

            A knock sounded on Felicity’s door. A welcome relief after the straining morning she had with the code that had yet to be deciphered enough to crack. Alena peeked around it and smiled. “I’ve come bearing lattes.”

            “Good,” Felicity told her with a deep sigh. “I could really use one right about now.” Felicity rose from her chair and stretched. It was amazing how cramped you became after three hours hunched over a computer. Alena closed the door with a large swish and it made Felicity’s hair fall in her face. Felicity knew she should have secured it back from her face hours ago. The long black and purple hair tended to get in the way whenever she was lost in code. But then it also gave her brain a welcome break when she had to push it away. Probably why she hadn’t cut it.

            “I was using the coffee as a way to soften the other blow,” Alena told her as she handed Felicity the paper cup from their favorite coffee shop.

            Felicity warmed her cold fingers around the surface of it before taking a careful sip. Alena tended to like her coffee super-hot. “Is A.R.G.U.S. moving Caden again?”

            “No. Not as far as we are aware.” Alena plopped down in one of Felicity’s chairs and made herself comfortable. “It’s about your Mayor Handsome.”

            Felicity groaned. She hated that name on principle. Not that Oliver Queen wasn’t good looking. More like too good looking. But it was the other part of Alena’s statement that had her blushing. “He’s not mine. But what about him?”

            “He has an enemy. One who is making waves.”   

            This time Felicity snorted over her cup. “He’s the Green Arrow. Of course he has enemies.”  

            Oliver Queen was an enigma to her. In the light of day, he was the Playboy Mayor of Star City with the face of an angel. At night, his monstrous nature revealed itself as he hunted down the worst criminals in Star City. His cruelty over the years had become legendary as was his compassion. Two men in one body. One masked and cruel while saving a city Felicity had come to love. The other a public figure who had much respect, despite the dirt thrown his way from bitter reporters desperate for a juicy story that may or may not be true. Felicity knew which. Helix allowed her that access. He might be an enigma still but Felicity was feeling like she was beginning to know him, despite never actually meeting him.

            “Earth to Felicity.”

            “Huh?” Felicity shot back to the present. Alena sat there grinning, sipping her coffee.

            “You done daydreaming?”

            “I wasn’t daydreaming,” Felicity denied.

            “Uh-huh.” Alena laughed. “But seriously, this new guy is dangerous. He has a secret that even Helix is having a hard time piecing together. And we think it is tied to something Oliver Queen has done.” Alena reached into her pocket and extracted a flash drive and held it out to Felicity. “I thought you might like a break on the A.R.G.U.S. thing and might want to work on this one personally. It does involve Oliver Queen.” Alena winked at her. “And I happen to know there are a few pictures on there that were obtained by key-hole satellite that you haven’t seen yet.”

            Felicity accepted the drive. “You want me to look at this at the cost of Caden?”

            Alena shrugged. “Caden knows we’re coming for him.” Alena rose and caught Felicity’s arm. “We will. You will. But I know you have a fascination for the Green Arrow. If this enemy is searching for his weaknesses, I thought you might want to find them first. Oliver Queen might not know it, but you are his best asset and ally.” Alena face turned serious. “It might be the only way to keep that crush of yours alive.”

            Alena let Felicity go and began to walk away, but before she left she turned back. “Plus, Mr. Queen hasn’t been doing too badly as mayor. I know I voted for him. It would be nice to see one of our mayors actually fulfill a term.”

            Felicity watched her friend leave and then collapsed back against her desk. Squeezing the drive in her hand, Felicity came up with a plan. It wasn’t about revealing the Green Arrow’s secrets. She was pretty sure she knew most of them anyway.

            “Stalker much?” she berated herself. Felicity circled her desk and sat down, taking another sip of her coffee before she set it aside. She had work to do.

            Alena was right about one thing. The Green Arrow had a secret weapon against his latest threat. Her. Felicity was the one who tied his two identities together years ago. Back before Oliver Queen had decided to pull his little rescue from Lian Yu stunt. With all she had on him she could expose every secret, every lie. She chose not to. Only her inner circle knew his full identity. Felicity refused for anyone else to work on either case, unless it was Alena or Caden.

            The question was who else knew? If Felicity could narrow down who knew, she might get a handle on who the threat was and where it was coming from.

            Felicity eyed her cup of coffee. She’d need a lot more than that by the time she was finished.

            Forty hours later and multiple cups of coffee, Felicity startled awake on her desk. Her office was littered with coffee cups and all types of cartons and bags from the food she ate to remain awake. Okay, so some of it was stress eating. She’d owe hours on her elliptical after this was over. But after rest and long straight hours of work, Felicity had a workable plan. It might not be the smartest plan she ever had and if she was caught she could be in a lot of trouble, but she had to do it for one reason alone. The danger was coming from inside Oliver’s administration.

 

OQFSOQFSOQFS

 

            Clenching her fake ID close to her chest, Felicity walked down the halls of City Hall. A younger woman who had been in deep conversation with the Deputy Mayor bumped into her.

            “Excuse me,” the woman said at the same time Felicity mumbled, “Sorry.”

            The young woman smiled at her and Felicity suddenly realized why she looked so familiar. She was Thea Queen, Oliver’s younger sister and Chief of Staff. “It was entirely my fault. I wasn’t paying attention.” Thea turned to Quentin Lance. “Can I catch up with you later?” The man nodded and walked off before Thea turned back to Felicity. “Can I help you? You look a little lost.”

            “Is it that obvious?” Felicity asked with an edge of uncertainty. She had hoped she looked more self-assured.

            Thea laughed and waved at someone as they walked past. “Sort of. Where are you heading?”

            Felicity swallowed before she held up her tablet. _She could do this. She could lie. She could._ “The mayor’s office. There’s a virus. The head of IT sent me up to clean it off.” Felicity silently begged Thea not to look into her story.

            Thea swung Felicity around and for a second Felicity thought that her cover was going to be blown. “Come to my office. You don’t want to go in there.” Thea grimaced. “At least not yet.”

            “Why?” Felicity was honestly curious.

            Thea rolled her eyes upwards. “He’s all kissy face with the Demon Bitch.” Her hand flew up to her lips. “Sorry. I promised Ollie I’d stop calling her that.”

            Felicity couldn’t keep back the laugh at Thea’s honesty. Felicity was surprised by how nice Thea was being. Felicity had half suspected that she’d be stuck up, but Felicity was happy to see that she was wrong. “I’m guessing you and your brother’s girlfriend don’t get along?”

            “With Susan Williams?” Thea snorted. “Hell, no. I don’t trust her. I especially don’t trust her near my brother.”

            “Okay.” Felicity drug out the word. This was an interesting turn of events. Felicity made a mental note to look further into Susan Williams. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

            Thea crossed her arms and gave Felicity a through look. “You seem okay. Plus, you’re only here to work on the computers, right?”

            “Yes, of course.” Felicity had to remind herself she wasn’t here to make friends.

            The sound of the door across the hall opening and closing had Thea perk up. “I think the Wicked Witch is gone. It’s probably safe to go in now.”

            Felicity took that as her cue and left Thea’s office for the mayor’s. Thinking that she had permission to enter, Felicity walked in without knocking.

            The mayor’s back was to her and she was about to announce herself when he began to speak. “God. I am so sorry, Susan. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m glad you came back to talk.”

            In a quick turn and a long stride, he was in front of her, his head lowering to hers. His hands came out of his pockets and surrounded her face anchoring her there from the urge to run. Felicity saw the moment of recognition that she wasn’t who he thought she was only a partial second before his lips touched hers.

            The kiss was warm, soft and slightly demanding. For half a second, Felicity wondered if he’d retreat now that he knew she wasn’t Susan Williams. But it was like magnets. He couldn’t seem to pull back any more than she could.

            Felicity’s hand found his chest to support herself while her other clenched tightly to the edge of her precious tablet. The muscles under his shirt clenched at her touch. Felicity had never felt anyone so solid. _Was he all muscle?_

            He released her slowly and stepped back. Felicity couldn’t believe a man who had been rumored to sleep around with dozens of women and who ran around under a hood to disguise his killer self could blush. But there he was in front of her with his ears pink as he gave her a sheepish smile. “I… um… sorry… I…”

            Felicity bit back a smile. She was the one known to stumble over her words. It was nice to see someone else tripping over their tongue for a change. _And what a nice tongue it was_. “It’s okay.” _No, it really wasn’t. Now that he kissed her she felt guilty for even being there in the first place and for having to lie to him_. “I… um… I should’ve knocked. I just assumed… which I shouldn’t have… But Thea… I mean Ms. Queen said…” Felicity tucked a piece of her long hair behind her ear. _This so wasn’t going according to plan_. “Sorry.”

            His composure quickly returned after tugging at his suit jacket. He held out a hand. “Mayor Oliver Queen. How may I help you?”

            Felicity placed her palm in his much larger one. She had never felt this small in her life as it became encompassed by his rough, calloused hand. A hand that easily let loose arrows at very dangerous men. A hand that Felicity wanted to hold a lot longer because it made her feel things she hadn’t felt in a long time. “Megan Kuttler. I work in the IT department. I was sent up because there’s a virus showing up on various computers and I…” _You can do this._ “I’m supposed to check yours to make sure you didn’t get it.”

            “Right.” He waved her over to his desk. “Have a seat. I’ll be back in a few minutes. I have to check in on Thea.”

            _Was it really going to be this easy?_ Felicity walked over and sat down in his leather chair. When she glanced up he was still there staring at her. His face held an edge of confusion. She couldn’t blame him, she was still messed up from that kiss herself. Trying to act like things like this happen all the time, Felicity pushed her glasses up on her face and smiled. “It won’t take long.”

 

            Oliver stood there unsure. There was something strange about this woman and he tried to convince himself that it had nothing to do with the fact that he still wished she was in his arms kissing him back. At first she had been hesitant, but the second his tongue touched her lips, she had been on board with it. He knew he shouldn’t have kissed her. The second he realized he should have pulled back, but for some reason, he couldn’t. Not if he wanted to breathe. It had been that important that he follow through. And he hadn’t been disappointed in the least. That kiss had everything that had been missing in his relationship with Susan, and until after they locked lips, Oliver didn’t even know Megan’s name.

            _What the hell was wrong with him?_ You’d think by now he’d be able to commit to some sort of relationship. Hell, he thought he had with Susan until today.

            He couldn’t even blame it on Megan. Oliver had screwed up even before Megan showed up at his door. Susan had stormed off because he had stood her up for the third time just that week alone.

            Sure, all of it had been for good reasons. Not that he could share those reasons with her. But with this new Vigilante, Prometheus, and the slew of criminals that kept showing up Oliver had a lot on his plate. That didn’t even include the time he spent here as the mayor. Dealing with all of that and having a steady girlfriend was making finding time to eat and sleep even harder.

            Then Megan showed up. Sure he made the mistake of assuming she was Susan returning when he first kissed her, but he continued to kiss her because nothing had ever felt more right in his life.

            It was like a block had been missing in his life and he had been shoving pegs there to try to fill the hole. Only now that the block had landed in his lap, did he realize how much all the other attempts didn’t work. Which was strange because Megan wasn’t anything to him. He never expected to meet her. Would have never pictured her in his mind if he tried.

            Oliver knew he couldn’t keep standing there watching her work. It was creepy. Turning, he walked out of his office and straight through Thea’s door. “Who’s Megan Kuttler?”

            Thea’s head bobbed up from the paperwork she was reading. “Who?”  

           “Megan Kuttler.” Oliver jerked a thumb toward his office. “Short. Cute. Black hair with a purple stripe. Wearing a sweater vest over a white button down and pencil skirt. Has an industrial piercing in her right ear.”

            “Oh! The IT girl?” Realization hit Thea before she smiled at her brother. “I didn’t catch her name.”

            “Who is she?”

            Thea rolled her eyes at him and repeated slowly as if he was dense. “The IT girl. She needed to fix your computer.”

            “Fix it?” _That didn’t sound right._

            “Yeah.” Thea shrugged. “Just let her do her job. She shouldn’t be there long.”

            “She told me she needed to check it for a virus.” Oliver leaned around Thea’s door but their offices were just cattycornered enough that he couldn’t see the woman from his position.

            “What difference does it make? I’m sure you probably just made her nervous. Let her work, Ollie.” Thea picked up her papers again. “We need to go over this proposal.” She slid the papers over to him before her eyes assessed him. “Unless there’s another reason why you’re so fascinated by this Ms. Kuttler?”

            “I kissed her.”

            “You what?” Thea dropped the papers and jumped up, circling her desk. “Are you serious?” Oliver could only nod. “This could be deemed sexual harassment. What were you thinking? Were you thinking?”

            Oliver ran a hand through his longer hair. He had been letting it grow out. It felt nice, normal. He needed a bit of normal in his life. “In my defense, I thought she was Susan.”

            Thea slapped him. “Because they look so much alike? C’mon, Ollie. Tell me you momentarily lost your mind. We could use insanity for a defense.”

            _I definitely lost my mind_ , Oliver thought. But if he had lost his mind completely, right now he’d be doing something else besides talking to his sister. It very much involved a very sexy IT girl with a purple streak in her hair and his office door being locked. He saw Thea make a beeline for the door. “Where are you going?”

            “To try to convince Ms. Kuttler not to sue you or the city.”

            Oliver jumped and grabbed his sister’s arm. “I’ll do it.”

            “That’s not exactly the best move.”

            Thea might not be wrong, especially considering Oliver’s recent train of thought. “I started this. Let me fix it.”

            When Thea snorted, Oliver had a half-hearted thought to just let her handle it. “What?”

            Thea’s eyes caught on something outside her door before she crossed her arms and smiled. “Fine. This should be fun.”

            “What?” Oliver’s eyes shot between her and his office door.

            “Your girlfriend’s back.”

            Oliver inwardly groaned. This wasn’t his day. “Can I send Megan in here while I get rid of Susan?”

            “If you get rid of Susan, I’ll throw Megan Kuttler a party in here,” Thea told him with teasing seriousness.

            “Thea,” Oliver growled at her, knowing very well his sister’s feelings in regard to his current girlfriend. Thea wanted the woman gone, fast, and preferably permanently.

            “Fine. Send her in.” Thea threw up her hands in defeat. “Could be worse. You could be sequestering me with the Demon Bitch.”

            Oliver glared at his sister before he turned and left towards an uncertain welcome in his office. Entering, Oliver tried to play out in his head how this should go down. None of them seemed to be in his favor, unless he lied his ass off and that was the major issue of his fight with Susan to begin with.

            Every scenario he pictured never came close to the one he was confronted with. Scanning the room, one of the major players was missing. Namely Megan Kuttler. Oliver sidled over to Susan and took her arm. “Where’s Megan? I mean Ms. Kuttler?”

            Susan glanced down at his hand on her arm before she raised her head to look him in the eye. “The IT girl?” Her voice came out somewhat accusatory. “She left. She wanted me to tell you everything on your computer checked out.”

            Oliver shook his head. He didn’t give a crap about his computer. “Where did she go?”  

            Susan shrugged. “How would I know? I came in here to talk to you and she was heading out. I don’t pay attention to the entire staff of City Hall.”

            “Right.” Oliver nodded and let her go. “You’re right.” Oliver whipped around and bellowed, “Thea.”  

            His sister ran into the room stopping short when she realized he was alone with Susan. “Where is she?”

            “I need you to find her.”

            Thea pointed to him. “You know, I’m going to get right on that.”

            Oliver watched as his sister raced off. Stalking over to his desk, Oliver trailed his fingers over the keyboard of his laptop. It was the last thing that Megan touched as far as he knew.

            Susan cleared her throat and brought his attention back to her. She stood in front of his desk with her arms crossed over her chest. “What’s going on?”      

            Burying his feelings, Oliver met Susan’s gaze straight on. “Nothing. Thea and I just had a few other technical issues we needed to go over with her. We never expected her to run off like that.”

            Susan didn’t seem convinced. “Are you sure? The two of you seem to be acting really strange.”

            “Yeah, of course everything’s fine.” Oliver circled around his desk and took Susan’s arms in his hands. “It’s no big deal. We can call down to IT and get her back.”

            “Actually…” Thea interrupted. “Ollie, can I see you for a minute?”

            Oliver glanced over Susan’s shoulder to Thea. The expression on her face caused his stomach to lurch. Something was definitely wrong. Turning back to Susan, he smiled at her. “I need to talk to Thea. Can I meet you for dinner tonight?”

            “Are you going to show up or should I make the reservation for one?”

            Oliver winced at her words. “I’ll show up.” _Was it so bad that he mentally crossed his fingers?_ “By tonight, we’ll be laughing about all of this.”

            Susan smiled up at him. She reached up and grasped his neck, pulling him down for a searing kiss that left him empty and craving the red lips of the woman who had been in his office earlier. “Plan on staying at my place later.”

            The second Susan left, Thea made choking sounds. “I think I threw up in my mouth a little.”

            “Shut up,” Oliver told her in his best imitation of a big brother voice. “Tell me what’s going on with Megan.”

            Thea shut the door and Oliver had to swallow a little harder. His well-built instincts on high alert. Thea walked over, her expression grim. “She doesn’t work for the IT Department. Or the city for that matter.”

            Oliver unbuttoned his jacket and sat down on the edge of his desk. “Who is she? What was she looking for?”

            Thea shrugged and Oliver wanted to hit the wall. Thankfully, he resisted the urge. He wasn’t sure how to handle this. Almost every member of his team had been gone for the past eight months in one capacity or another. Digg’s future was grim and Lyla was preoccupied with trying to find ways to get him out of the military prison with limited results, but Oliver wondered if she would give him A.R.G.U.S. access to track down Megan Kuttler. Sadly, that really was his only option. He didn’t have anyone that could do a search like that. Laurel’s resources would have been his second choice, if Darkh hadn’t killed her last year.

            The pain of that crushed Oliver a little bit. He and Digg had made the mistake to try and trust Andy, Digg’s brother, ever after he had previously worked for Darkh. But with Digg only working part-time in their group, Oliver welcomed the help in dealing with Darkh. He had to dig up some sort of hope that they could end Darkh’s rein. Laurel had tried to be that grain of hope. It might have worked if she wasn’t still battling her own form of darkness.

            “Ollie?”

            Pulling himself out of the dark thoughts that consumed him, Oliver faced his sister. “Yeah?”  

            “You’ll find her, Ollie. And what she wanted. However, you have a meeting with DA Chase in fifteen minutes.”

            “Right. Thanks.” Standing, Oliver straightened his tie and buttoned his jacket. It was only then that Oliver took a deep cleansing breath. “Get all the security footage of her in the building and forward it to Lyla. I’m going to call her real quick before Chase gets here.”

            Thea nodded and headed out of the office. Oliver pulled out his phone. He needed Lyla’s assistance and he could only hope that she was willing to help.

 

OQFSOQFSOQFS

 

            Oliver rested atop an abandoned building and waited. People trickled out of the structure and across the street to a parking garage over the past two hours. None of them had been his target. He checked his comm to make sure Lyla was still there. She was. It was then that his neck prickled. Oliver could sense his prey without even seeing her.

            “Oliver, you okay?” Lyla asked.

            “Gotta go,” he told her.

            “Good luck.”

            Jumping off the edge, Oliver shot a tension arrow so he could swing down. On silent feet, Oliver followed in the shadow until the person was alone. She apparently didn’t park in the garage like everyone else.

            Turning on his voice modulator, Oliver grabbed an arrow and nocked it. “Felicity Smoak, you have failed this city.”

            She jumped and clutched her purse tight to her chest as if he was no more than a purse snatcher before she turned. Her glasses were still perched on her nose and her hair was now in a long black ponytail. For some reason, like this, she looked younger. Vulnerable in the large coat she wore. Her red lips trembled and she captured the lower one between her teeth.

            For once, Oliver felt like no more than a bully confronting a small, weak opponent. But she was smart. Smarter than he even suspected by the Intel he learned from Lyla. That was proven by how easily she had been able to get through all the security protocols the city enforced since the shooting at City Hall. And the Trojan Lyla had found on his computer had been complicated, sophisticated in the quality of the coding. A.R.G.U.S. was still working on what it was capable of.

            “Don’t kill me,” she pleaded after several minutes of silence between them.

            “It’s not my first move,” he assured her and then cursed himself for showing his hand.

            “No. You prefer to kiss them first.”

            Oliver’s eyes narrowed. She knew who he was. That would explain the Trojan. Lowering his bow, Oliver swiped the hood from his head and pulled down the mask. “Not usually. But then you probably know that already.” Oliver returned his arrow to his quiver, turned off his modulator, and approached her. “What were you looking for?”

            Felicity shrugged and her posture relaxed slightly. “What does anyone looks for when hacking a computer? Information.”

            “For what? You apparently already know the secret of who I am.”  

            Her eyes met his. And he couldn’t help taking a step closer as he listened to her lowered voice. “I’m sure it’s not your only one.”

            Oliver reached out and pulled her forward. There was no space between them as his feet surrounded hers. Her eyes flashed with something that was hard to decipher in the low light, but if she was feeling anything like he was, it was desire. With his free hand, he held his bow behind his back so she wouldn’t feel as threatened, even as he deepened his voice. “You would know all about secrets, Megan. Or is it Felicity?”  

            “Felicity.” Her head tilted up. She put up a brave front but he knew she was still scared by how heavy she breathed. However, the tremble that passed over her was not because she was frightened.

            Oliver cursed under his breath for wishing that she was breathing so hard for other reasons. Why was he so attracted to this woman? He didn’t know much about her, other than what Lyla was able to dig up before Felicity went off the grid. Her mother lived in Vegas. Felicity Smoak was a certifiable genius who graduated at the age of nineteen from MIT in 2009. And she was the most beautiful and intriguing woman he had ever met. That last one he figured out all on his own.

            “What are you going to do with me?”

            _Not what he really wanted_. “Depends on whether you give me a straight answer and I believe you.”

            Felicity’s spine straightened. “I’m not a liar, Mr. Queen.”

            “Oliver. My father was Mister Queen.”

            “Oliver.” He could tell she said it just to try it out, as much as he had the second he had discovered her real name was Felicity. It fit her better than Megan. “Right,” she added. “But he’s dead. I mean he died tragically. But you didn’t. Which means that you could be here stalking me.”

            Oliver’s lips quirked. He liked this babbling Felicity. _Who was he kidding_? There was something about her that drew him in, more than any woman before her. Even Laurel, the only woman he had ever admitted to loving. Trying to ignore all of that, Oliver demanded, “Who do you work for? And what information were you trying to retrieve?”

            “I can’t tell you who I work for.” When his eyes narrowed, she shook her head. “I can’t. As for what I was looking for, it was whatever I could find.”

            The sound of voices could be heard around the corner and Oliver pushed Felicity back until they were completely in the shadows. Her back was pushed against the brick building and he covered her with his body. “Shh.”

            Oliver flipped his hood back up and pressed closer. He could feel her hands trapped between them as if they were on his bare skin. The people quickly passed and the two of them were unnoticed. Even after they were gone, Oliver didn’t move. He wasn’t sure if he could. With his free hand, Oliver gripped tight to her hip. It wasn’t so much to keep her there as to anchor himself.

            “Felicity,” he groaned before he lowered his head to hers. A knife in his back wouldn’t have stopped his movements.

            Her lips were just as soft and pliant as he remembered. They melded with his, desperate. The same need that swept over him in his office drove him now. However, he pulled back. Staring down at her, he tried to memorize everything about her. He removed her glasses and pocketed them before he rested his bow against the wall and yanked her hard against his aching body.

            Nothing felt more right than having Felicity Smoak in his arms. Her hands caressed his chest before wrapping around his neck. He pulled her up and cursed the fact that her skirt was too tight to lift her up and have her legs wrap around him.

            When they pulled apart, their breaths were labored but neither relinquished their hold. They needed to feel each other make sure it was real.

            “So, I guess the city won’t get charged for sexual harassment,” Oliver teased her. Felicity’s head fell against his chest and he could feel her soft laughter and he held her tight. Turning, he rested against the wall and kissed the top of her head.

            However, the moment didn’t last. She tensed and pulled back from him. “The city.”

            Oliver became alert at her words. “What about the city?”

            “I have to warn you. You’re in danger.” Felicity grasped his arm and held tight.

            Oliver indicated his outfit as he pulled her glasses from his pocket and handed them to her. “I’ve been in danger before. I deal with it every night.”

            “Not like this.” Her voice sounded desperate. “There’s this man… Prometheus.”

            “I know about Prometheus,” he told her, his voice clipped at the name of the vigilante that made him kill a good man.

            “No. You don’t understand. I need you to understand.” Felicity released him and shook her head. But then she turned back and her eyes seemed wild behind her glasses. “You don’t know what he’s capable of. I’ve only just begun to, but there’s so much still hidden. That’s what I was looking for on your computer.” Oliver could sense her desperation and he tried to reach out to her but she wouldn’t let him. “Give me time. I’ll find it. Just don’t engage.”

            “You know who he is.” Suddenly, Oliver understood.

            “No. Not really. Not yet. All I can tell you is that he works in your office. Which was why I broke into the City Hall systems instead of your computers in your lair.”

            Oliver dismissed the fact that she also knew of his lair and gripped her tight, holding himself in check from shaking her. “What’s his name?”

            “That’s just it,” she said with a shake of her head. “His name is Simon Morrison, but that can’t be the name he’s using because I couldn’t find him as a city employee.”

            Confused, Oliver tried to process what she was telling him. “Who’s Simon Morrison?”

            Felicity shrugged. “He worked with a woman from Russia. I’m pretty sure she worked with you, too. Her name is Ta…”

            The sound of an arrow cut her off. It shot through her body and the tip of it rested near his own chest as Felicity’s body fell limp in his hands. Reaching up with one hand, Oliver felt for her pulse. It wasn’t there. Furious, Oliver gently laid her body down and grabbed his bow. When he turned, he discovered Talia and Prometheus.

            Talia lowered her bow and remarked the man next to her. “You’ve been compromised.”

            “Why?” Oliver demanded at her as he rose to face the woman who had trained him in Russia. She allowed him to find a release for the monster within him so he could be Oliver Queen again.

            “You killed our fathers. We’ve come to repay the debt.”

            “I don’t even know who your father is,” Oliver told her.

            “I guess I never did tell you my full name. It’s Talia al-Ghul.”

            “Ra’s.” It was beginning to make some sense. Oliver glanced down at the woman at his feet. “You didn’t have to kill her.”

            Prometheus ripped off his mask revealing the one man Oliver would have never suspected, Adrian Chase. “You’re lucky,” he told Oliver before glancing over at Felicity, “or maybe she is, that’s all we did to her.” Adrian turned back to Oliver, no longer the man Oliver knew, but a true monster. A man who would scare monsters. “Pain can come in so many different ways.”

            “Then why don’t you show me and leave innocent people alone?”  

            Chase laughed. “You have no idea who she really is, do you, Oliver?” Oliver shook his head. No, he had yet to discover the true woman at his feet. “She was the head of a dangerous organization.”

            “Doubtful.”

            Talia smirked. “Helix is just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than the League of Assassins ever was. I’m sure there’s a lot of agencies and governments out there that will rejoice at the knowledge of her death.”

            Adrian drew close to Oliver and took a deep breath. “Tell me the smell of her blood in your nose, the feel of it on your skin, didn’t excite you a little. The rush of death in your arms.”

            “No,” Oliver vehemently denied. He had killed too many but her death… It meant something. Oliver may not have really known Felicity Smoak but her death would haunt him. Even more than Shado’s, or his mother’s. “Not with her.”

            A look passed between Chase and Talia. Oliver was glad Felicity was prostate at his feet. If she moved, she’d be in even more danger. His words just made her a much larger target in whatever sick game Talia and Chase were playing with him.

 

OQFSOQFSOQFS

 

            “You’re forgetting one thing,” Oliver told Talia smugly after she finished her story.

            “What’s that?” Talia seemed unconcerned by his attitude. “Even you are not capable of saving your love from death.”

            “I beat Darkh,” Oliver reminded her.

            “Yes. And?”

            “And all of his magic was destroyed with him.” Oliver stood there happy that for once he had the upper hand, even if he was about to reveal the one secret that Talia never expected. However, Oliver needed to get his point across because even though Talia’s tale was just a story, it hurt his heart to know that he could’ve lost Felicity forever.

            “Of course it was. Thank you. It was much appreciated. My father had tried for most of his life to see that man destroyed.”

            “Save one,” Oliver said, ignoring her. He crossed his arms and smiled. “One that wasn’t his to begin with because he stole it. Stole it out from under _your_ father’s nose.”

            “Water from the Lazurus Pit,” Talia murmured in reverent understanding. “You possess it?”

            “Yes.” Oliver faced off with the woman he once admired. “And I would’ve used it on Felicity. Without your knowledge, I would’ve injected her with it when I laid her on the ground at my feet. More than that, I’m going to save her now. From you. From Prometheus. And when I find her, I’m going to kill you.”            

             “You can try.”

            “If the choice is you or her, I’ll choose her every time. Chase already knows this.” Oliver unfolded his arms and glared down at Talia, pounding her with a single finger in her chest. “Don’t stand in my way. It won’t finish well for you.”

            Talia brushed his finger away as if it was no more than a gnat. “I already do.”

            Oliver held his emotions back. Years of being the monster he always believed himself to be made it easy, even though Felicity had effectively broken down those barriers over the last few months. Oliver was about to lunge for Talia when his office door opened. Someone stood in the shadows.

            “She’s mine, husband.” Nyssa emerged from the shadows. “Hello, sister.”

            Oliver watched Nyssa raise her bow and aim it at her sister’s heart. “What are you doing here, Nyssa?”

            “I’m your wife, Oliver,” Nyssa told him matter of factly. “A position I relieve you of.” Nyssa stepped forward further, her gaze never wavering from her older sister. “As Ra’s,” Nyssa shrugged, knowing as much as he did that she disbanded the League and as such her title, “I dissolved the vows. You have been released as much as I have.” Her eyes shot over to him for a split second before resuming on her target. “Go. Get Felicity. At least one of us should find love.”

            Oliver didn’t think twice. He ran from the room. Felicity was his reason for living. For not giving in to the psychological torture Chase inflicted on him. She was the reason he fought and won against the monster Chase and Talia claimed him to be. Felicity was the reason he was going to fight and keep fighting until this was finally over.

 

OQFSOQFSOQFS

 

            “Where are we?” Curtis inquired eight hours later as he peered out of the airplane window.

            “Lian Yu,” Oliver whispered quietly.

            “But why?” Rene asked. “Blondie doesn’t seem like the type for deserted islands. Not enough Wi-Fi.”

            Oliver couldn’t help but smile as he remembered travelling with Felicity and how she always managed to stay on the grid. She kept up with the team behind his back even when he thought there was no internet connection. “This is where Prometheus took her according to Noah and Helix.”

            “I repeat, but why?”

            “Because Lian Yu is where Oliver was when he was stranded after the Gambit went down,” Diggle explained from the nearby plane. “He wants Oliver back to where it all started.” There was a heavy pause as everyone absorbed Digg’s words. “We ready to land, Oliver?”

            “Yes.” He had to be.

            Both planes began their descent. Prometheus had to know they were there. Their arrival wasn’t exactly quiet.

            “When we land, don’t immediately engage,” Oliver warned everyone over the comms.

            “Sorry, but if I feel Blondie’s threatened, there isn’t anything going to stop me,” Rene told me. “Don’t say you won’t do the same.”

            Oliver knew exactly what Rene meant, but he glared at him anyway. He might have warned Rene to stay back anyway, this was Oliver’s fight, but a loud boom sounded next to them and Digg’s plane made a quick descent past their own toward the shoreline. Digg had been hit.

            “Oh no he didn’t,” Rene barked out glaring at the island. Oliver held out an arm to hold him back from jumping out the co-pilot’s seat.

            Oliver watched as parachutes opened above the ground. Three chutes. Thank God. Diggle, Thea and Dinah all made it out.

            “What was that about not engaging?” Rene questioned with a bit of snark.

            “We can’t kill him until we know where Felicity is,” Oliver reminded him.

            “It’s not _that_ big of an island.”

            “And what if she’s not really here?” Curtis countered.

            “That machine her father gave you said she was and if your balls can’t find her, why did we bother reprograming them?”

            “She’s here,” Oliver told them both as he changed direction for his descent so he wouldn’t interfere with the parachutes.

            “Speaking of Helix,” Curtis continued, “why did they help us? Or Noah specifically? I thought the whole reason they dropped Felicity was because of her involvement in all of this. And Noah Kuttler isn’t exactly their biggest fan.”

            “I don’t know,” Oliver told him honestly. “And, right now, I don’t care. I’m about to land. Get ready.”

           

OQFSOQFSOQFS

 

            Diggle glanced over at the two women as they disengaged their chutes. “Everyone okay?”  

            “Yes,” Thea told him, her eyes a little too wide for his liking.

            “Sure,” Dinah replied. “But now I’m pissed off.”  

            “Aww. And here we were worried your welcome wouldn’t be memorable,” Evelyn told them as she emerged from her hiding spot.

            Diggle growled at her but Dinah grabbed his arm. “Sure. It was memorable, but not too original. I would’ve thought your boss would be much more creative.”

            John was happy that Dinah decided to step in. It allowed him to cool down on some of his anger. He was going to need his head on straight if they were going to deal with Chase. Even if the man took one of the two women that meant the world to John. Though, the women around him, outside of Evelyn, were a close second. “How do you plan on making all of us cooperate?”

            “Simple. You don’t do as I say and I radio Prometheus to kill your friend.” Evelyn glanced between the three of them. “It would be a shame to come all this way to only collect a dead and broken body.”

            “If you’ve hurt her…” Digg surged forward and it took both Thea and Dinah to hold him back and even then the only reason he stopped was because he didn’t want to hurt either one of them. John had to remind himself that Evelyn was just a patsy to the real monster. Chase.

            “Let’s go.” Evelyn waved them forward with her bow.

            “We are all aware this is a trap, right?” Thea asked the two of them.

            “I know,” Diggle replied. “But I think we’re just more of the bait.”

 

OQFSOQFSOQFS

 

            Diggle wasn’t wrong. Curtis had managed to restore the comms that Diggle and his group had lost in the explosion, but only so Oliver and his group could hear them. They had lost the ability to have two-way communication.

            “It appears I now possess all the pieces to Oliver’s puzzle,” they heard Chase say.

            “William,” Diggle breathed out. “Why is he here?”

            “He’s important.”

            “Oliver is going to kill you.”

            “Only if I don’t kill him first,” Chase told him.

            “I thought you didn’t want him dead.”

            Oliver cheered on his friend for continuing to talk. It allowed them more time to discover where they were and what Chase was planning. Though it burned Oliver to know that not only did Chase have Felicity, he had his son and his friends and sister.

            “Boss, chill,” Rene told him with a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know who William is, but we’ll get them all back.”

            “It’s his son,” Curtis filled in.

            Rene let out a whistle. “Okay, didn’t see that one coming. I’m guessing Blondie isn’t the baby momma.”

            “No,” Oliver gritted out.

            “And I thought my life was complicated.” Rene shook his head.

            “Shh,” Oliver growled at him so they could continue to hear what was going on.

            “You’ll never break us,” Diggle warned him.

            “I broke Oliver,” Chase told him proudly. “The rest of you will be so much easier. And the pain Oliver will feel in process will be exquisite.”

            “Where’s Felicity?” Diggle demanded, apparently he was taking the lead in this conversation with Chase.

            “Safe, for now. Though, I must admit I’ve enjoyed our talks over the last two days.”

            Oliver jumped up ready to charge forward, but Rene and Curtis tackled him. He fought them off with a furious hunger to kill the man who had his son and Felicity.

            “Damn it, boss. Calm down. We need to find out where Felicity is. Diggle knows what he’s doing,” Rene yelled at him. “Hell, we don’t even know where _they_ are yet.” Rene glared over at Curtis as if searching for backup. “You get a location yet?”

            “Almost.”

            The three of them paused when they heard Chase laugh. “That felt good. I owed you for what you did to my wife.”

            “Is that all you’ve got?” Diggle taunted him.

            “No.” There was a pause. “Grab that one. Strap her and her nephew up there.”

            “You’re sick,” Thea screamed.

            “No, I’m honest,” Chase replied. “Which is more than I can say for your brother. Did he even share his little secret with you? That he’s a monster? That he only brought all of you in so he could continue his love of killing?”

            “What?” Rene’s eyes shot up to Oliver’s.

            Oliver lowered his head and nodded. “It’s true.”

            “Hell no, he isn’t,” Curtis replied. “You’re not a monster. He is. He is projecting his issues on you.”

            “He’s not.” Oliver kicked a rock when he really wanted to be hitting Chase. “And now he has my family and friends.”

            “And I have his location.”

            Rene and Oliver raced over to see what Curtis was talking about. Oliver studied the tablet and then looked between the two men at his side. “Follow me.”

            “I take it you know where you’re going,” Rene grabbed his gear and followed.

            “He did live here,” Curtis reminded him.

            “Be careful where you step,” Oliver threw over his shoulder at them. “There are traps and landmines all over this island and if we are going to get there fast, we need to take a shortcut.”

            “Hey,” Rene called out. “I have question.”

            Oliver stopped momentarily and turned to Rene. “What?”

            “Why hasn’t Dinah used her cry?”

            “This place probably still has some residual magic. She might not be able to. Plus, Prometheus planned for this, you think he didn’t plan to keep her from using it?”

            “Great.” Rene sighed before they continued again. “Magic.”

            Oliver glanced back to Curtis. “Get that thing to tell us where Felicity is.”

            “Got it, boss.”

            The three men upped their speed through the foliage of Lian Yu. The comms lost their signal for a short time but so far it didn’t seem Chase was quite ready to kill anyone. That didn’t stop Oliver from worrying. He wished he could ask Digg exactly how many people were there. Chase had to have more people there than just him and Evelyn or Diggle and the team would’ve already have been able to take them down. Thea alone could’ve overtaken Evelyn. She wasn’t Malcolm Merlyn’s daughter for nothing.

            It took twenty long minutes to reach the outskirts of Fyers’s old camp. The place where Chase was now holed up with Oliver’s team and son. “Did you track down Felicity?”

            Curtis shook his head. “It’s been a little hard to program and run at the same time.”

            “Well, you have a few minutes. I’m going to do some recon.”

            “What about me?” Rene asked prepared to come with him.

            “You’re going to keep Chase from finding Curtis.” Oliver pointed off to his right. “Whatever you do, don’t go that way.”

            “Why what’s over there?” Rene asked with interest as he studied the place Oliver pointed.

            “Landmines. Lots of them.”

            “Right. Lead Chase and his men that way. Got it, boss.”

            Oliver rolled his eyes before he leveled them at Rene. “Don’t kill yourself in the process. Quentin will be pissed if you don’t come back. I think he got attached to you.”

            Rene shrugged. “Hoss knows what I’m capable of. Plus, I have a daughter to get back to.”

            Nodding, Oliver took off at a running crouch. How many times had he told himself he’d never come back here? And how many times had he come back with the thought that this place was his safety zone? The place he could be the man he had become without censure. Now, he realized that place was with Felicity, not here. Only Felicity _was_ _here_ at a madman’s insistence. A place that creeped her out because of the hidden dangers, and not just the ones on the island. Oliver half wondered if she was scared of what he could become here. Not that it mattered anymore. He didn’t want to be here, not without her.

            A few paces later, Oliver approached the area that held the cages Fyers had kept for his prisoners. Thea and William were tied together inside one, while Dinah was in another. John was tied to a post. His face and torso bloodied and bleeding. A few guards stood around armed to the teeth with weapons. What there wasn’t was any sign of Chase or Evelyn.

            Circling around the area, Oliver discovered some temporary housing. Inching closer, Oliver tried to listen inside. He definitely heard voices but he couldn’t make them out to try to recognize them or make out what they were saying. At least Oliver knew where they were. That was a start.

            “G.A., I have her location.”

            “Where?”

            “That’s the part I’m confused about. From the map you gave us it appears she’s in the middle of a lagoon.”

            Oliver silently cursed. The Amazo. _How the hell had they gotten her there_? Oliver’s last trip to the ship almost made him fish food. “I know exactly where she is. Good work.”

            “Really? Because this isn’t making any sense,” Curtis bemoaned over the comms.

            “I’ll be back in a few minutes. I have eyes on. We know where everyone is. So far, everyone seems safe,” Oliver told him.

            “Good because Wild Dog is getting awfully antsy.”

            A sound captured Oliver’s attention as he turned to leave. Evelyn exited the building, a huff escaping her lips. “Why do I have to feed her?”

            “Because Talia hasn’t checked in and you’re the only other one here who knows where she is,” Chase told her while he followed her out.

            “So, you do it.”

            Chase yanked Evelyn by the hair. “You seem to keep forgetting that I’m the one in control here.”

            Evelyn glared at Adrian, as only a teenager could. “Only because Talia isn’t here.”

            Adrian backhanded her all the while still holding her aloft by her long braid. A trickle of blood escaped from the side of her mouth.

            “You know he’s here,” Evelyn continued to taunt him. “How do you know he’s not already watching you?”

            “I know for a fact he is.”

            The way Chase smiled sent a cold chill down Oliver’s back. Shrinking back further into the shadows, Oliver tried to hide exactly how close he was.

            “Come out, Oliver. I’m sure you’re curious as to how I know exactly where you are.”

            Oliver rose slowly from his position. He held his hands aloft in surrender. “I’m here. Let her go.”

            “You think she matters?” Chase shook Evelyn and laughed. “Apparently, you haven’t been paying attention.”

            With quick hands, Adrien snapped Evelyn’s neck and let her drop to the ground. Oliver glanced down at the prone form. He had gone through this before. She hadn’t died at Chase’s hands the last time, but by the look on Adrian’s face, the snide smile, Oliver suspected that this wasn’t an act.

            Chase nodded at Evelyn. “Oh. She’s really dead this time. Guess your girlfriend’s not eating tonight.” Chase shrugged. “Not that she’s been doing much of that since her arrival. But then again, once I kill you, maybe I can feed her something more edible. You. That should make for some interesting small talk as she gags down her food.”

            “How did you know I was here?” Oliver demanded. He had made sure he left his comms open so that Curtis and Rene would know he had been spotted.

            “A little birdy retrieved a valuable package for me.” Chase whistled and a burly guy drug out a grey haired man, while Black Siren followed. Noah Kuttler, Felicity’s father. He looked battered and bruised but alive and moving on his own. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Kuttler?”

            “Go to hell,” the older man spewed out.

            “We’ve both been there. It’s a little tropical for my liking. But I’m more than happy to assist you on your journey back.” Chase stared at him intently. “Would you like to greet your daughter there or would you prefer she go first?”

            Noah Kuttler let out several choice curse words but Chase ignored him, mostly because Oliver chose that moment to attack. If Dinah couldn’t use her cry, neither could Black Siren. Right now, there was no way Oliver was going to stand there and let Chase hurt Felicity’s father anymore.

           Oliver let out every ounce of darkness he possessed free. It was the only way they were all going to survive this. The second Oliver had a hold of Chase he let the beast out of the cage. There was only one saving grace in all of this, Oliver’s friends and family wouldn’t be there to see him rip Simon Morrison apart.

           The two men grappled across grass and dirt, equal in almost every way. Chase brought his weapons out but after the experience with fighting with Ra’s al-Ghul, Oliver was ready to deflect them without thought.

           A skirmish broke out around them. Oliver dismissed it. All of his energy had to be trained on Prometheus. This fight was much more important. The two men were growing tired but neither hesitated or gave an inch for the other to slip through. Finally, Chase stumbled and Oliver feed off that slight weakness, going for the kill.

          “Stop!”

          Oliver hesitated at the word cried out in Felicity’s familiar voice and Chase flipped him over. Just as Oliver knew he was about to die a shot rang out. Simon Morrison pitched forward, his dead body covering Oliver’s. The man’s blood dripped down into Oliver’s eyes. Rolling the body over, Oliver swiped at his face and looked up at the owner of the smoking gun.

          Anatoly Knysev stood behind it. He nodded at Oliver. “It was not worth your soul. Mine’s already lost.” Anatoly glanced over his shoulder and Oliver noticed where his eyes landed. “Go to her. She needs you.”

          Oliver didn’t realize how badly he was shaking until he tried to stand up. Anatoly held out a hand to help him and Oliver accepted it.

          “Our association is official over,” Anatoly told him with an edge of sadness. “Live well, my old friend.”

          Before Oliver could return the sentiment, Anatoly walked away. Maybe it was for the best. Glancing over at Felicity he saw that Diggle was holding her up and her face was covered in tears. On unsteady feet, Oliver made his way over to the two of them. Diggle whispered something into her ear and she turned and quickly hugged Oliver tight.

          “What happened?” Oliver asked Diggle over her head.

          Diggle only responded with a nod of his head. Oliver’s eyes followed where he indicated. That was when he noticed the prone form of Noah Kuttler. With questioning eyes, Oliver asked Diggle what he couldn’t say with Felicity so close. _Was he dead?_

          “He’ll make it if we get him off the island fast,” Diggle told him.

          “Already on it,” an unknown voice said over their comms. Considering how Diggle reacted, the comms had somehow had become fixed.

          “Who was that?” Diggle asked. “I thought the comms were broken.”

          “I fixed them,” the voice replied. “You’re welcome. In coming in five.”

          True to his word, a helicopter, complete with paramedics landed in less than five minutes. The pilot saluted them as they took back off. Oliver was pretty sure whoever their rescuer ended up being would be back.

          “Let’s go home,” Digg announced as planes began to circle for landing. They had to be A.R.G.U.S.

          “One day I’d like to have some better memories of this place,” Felicity mumbled from under Oliver’s arm.

          “It’s not that bad once you’re used to it,” Oliver told her, hugging her tight.

          “Ha! I don’t plan on being used to it.”

 

OQFSOQFSOQFS

 

            “I’m going to make you eat your words,” Oliver told Felicity as he drug her into the hallowed out plane fuselage a few weeks later.

            “The ones where I swore I’d never come here again?” Felicity said reminding him of her words when they boarded the plane to leave Lian Yu.

            “No. The ones where you told me you’d never have good memories here.”

            “Is that a bed?” Felicity asked distracted by the large queen size bed off in one corner. “And a Porta Potty? How did you even get these here let alone in here?”

            Oliver stood there grinning like a fool. “My secret.” He came up behind her wrapped his arms around her waist. “You like it? I wanted it to feel a little homey.”

            Felicity turned in his arms and tilted her head up to gaze into Oliver’s eyes. “Did you get rid of the landmines?”

            “No.”

            She grimaced. “You could put a mansion on this place and I’m not sure how homey it would feel.”

            “You wouldn’t want a mansion.”

            “No. You’re right.” Felicity wrapped her arms around his neck. “I just need you.”

            “There’s no internet,” he teased. “Are you sure you’re going to be able to survive here for eight weeks?”

            Felicity grinned. “I guess you’re going to have to think of ways to keep me entertained then. I might start to feel withdrawal.”

           

            Oliver couldn’t help smiling. Felicity made him happy. Happier than he ever remembered being. Leaning down, he kissed her. “I might have one or two things up my sleeve.”

            Felicity dramatically searched him for his metaphorical clothes since he was shirtless. “When did the Emperor get new clothes?”

            Oliver tickled her and she squirmed in his arms. “That’s Queen to you.”

            She smacked at him to make him stop. “I’m the Queen here. Or at least a newly minted one.”

            That had Oliver pause. “Yes. Yes, you are.” He pulled her hand up and kissed the wedding ring gracing her left hand. “I can’t believe we’re here together. That you married me after everything we’ve been through.”

            “I can’t believe you’re still Mayor of Star City,” she threw back.

            “What?” Oliver pulled back from her slightly, stunned by her announcement.

            Felicity nodded. “Despite all that happened with Chase, the population of Star City still has faith that you’ll be the best choice for mayor. Thea texted me. I guess I still had a signal until shortly before we landed.”

            Oliver ran a hand over his head. “Now I feel guilty for leaving Quentin alone to run the city for the next eight weeks.”

            “I think the city will understand,” Felicity told him as she wrapped her arms back around him. “Well, at least some of the population. The females maybe a little disappointed that Mayor Handsome is officially off the market. A particular reporter was leading the charge. The rest were more upset that we escaped before they knew we were married and that they couldn’t get an interview with you about retaining your position.”

            _Wow_! Oliver couldn’t believe it. The city still believed in him. The man who had become a monster to survive. The man who had to live separate lives to come home. The man who was now healing and reconciling the schism because of the woman in front of him.

            Oliver found a way to embrace both sides of himself without letting either one control him. He had family and friends who reminded him constantly of his humanity and his integrity despite it all. They convinced him that it was okay to make mistakes, so long as he could come back from them. It was all part of being human. Guilt didn’t hang over his head like the mantle of his hood.

            “I love you.” Oliver couldn’t have kept the words back if he tried. “I love you.” He yanked her forward so she was completely in his arms. He pulled her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

            Felicity squealed when he began to walk out of the plane. “Hey. Where are you taking me?”

            “You’re thinking dirty thoughts,” Oliver said as he leered down at his wife. “I think we need to wash them away. Plus, it’s super-hot and I’m sweaty.”

            “I know.” She leaned down and ran her tongue over the side of his neck, almost making Oliver trip. “I like it. But that still doesn’t explain where we’re going.”

            He told her in specific detail exactly what he planned. Her eyes grew wide and her hands wrapped tighter around his neck as her hips gyrated on his. Oliver had to stop and kiss the woman he loved. Their teeth and tongues crashing together.

            When they pulled back both their chests heaved. “There better not be any landmines. I refuse to be killed naked.”

            Oliver laughed. He had never felt so free, especially here on Lian Yu where his life really began. He was complete. Whole and at peace. Not only with his life but with who he was. “I don’t plan on losing you any time soon, Felicity.”

            “Good.”

 

**_THE END_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to every one of you who have continued on this journey with me for this series. I will be posting some longer stories soon. I hope that you will enjoy them just as much.


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